National Television Academy Honored Leaders In Spanish TV.

The National Television Academy presented six honorary Emmy Awards tonight to leading Hispanics at a black-tie event held at the McNay Art Museum in San Antonio, Texas. The awards, given by the Academy’s trustees, were presented to honorees in recognition of their contributions to the growth and quality of Spanish-language television in the United States.

The individuals honored at the ceremony include Noticiero Univision anchor Jorge Ramos; host of Telemundo’s Al Rojo Vivo con María Celeste María Celeste-Arrarás; host of Univision’s Sábado Gigante Mario Kreutzberger; Telemundo’s top sports personality Andrés Cantor; President and Chief Operating Officer of Univision Ray Rodriguez; and Televisa’s top television personality Verónica Castro.

“Tonight’s group of honorees represents some of the finest professionals in Spanish-language television,” said Peter Price, president of The National Television Academy. “The Academy is honored to recognize their achievements and to celebrate Hispanic television with this special event.”

Presenters at the event included Executive Vice President of News and Information Programming at Telemundo Joe Peyronnin; top telenovela actress Ana De La Reguera; President of the National Television Academy Peter Price; Chairman Emeritus of ESPN and 1st Vice Chair of the National Television Academy Herb Granath; former politician, cabinet member, and network executive Henry Cisneros; and Executive Vice President of Sports at Telemundo Jorge Hidalgo. The event was hosted by recording artist, actor and television personality Carlos Ponce.

“This is an honorable event that celebrates Hispanic leaders and we are excited that San Antonio, home of our SBC headquarters, was chosen to host” said Adrian Quintanilla, director of SBC multicultural and emerging markets. “The SBC family of companies has a long history of supporting the diverse communities which we serve, therefore sponsoring the first Spanish-language television awards was a natural step for us.”

The honorees were selected by The Academy’s eight-member organizing committee and were honored at the annual meeting of its trustees. It is the first time in its history that the National Television Academy hosts an event dedicated exclusively to Spanish-language television.